Visit beautiful Ciudad Juarez--it's just across the border

[Flaneur]

From the US government's Overseas Security Advisory Council

http://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=113317

Mexico 2010 Crime & Safety Report: Ciudad Juarez
Crime & Safety
Americas - Mexico
1 Feb 2010

Overall Crime and Safety Situation

Ciudad Juarez is designated as a critical crime threat city by the U.S. Department of State. Although Mexican media and government sources offer varying crime statistics, most sources report at least 2,640 murders committed in and around the city in 2009, up from 1,600 in 2008, and 300 in 2007.

Mexican cartels battling for control of drug trafficking routes cause widespread disruption in the city and state. Cartel members use increasingly brutal methods to intimidate their rivals, including murder of drug traffickers’ family members and dismemberment of victims. Cartel violence significantly undermines public confidence in the capacity of Mexican government institutions, including the army, to guarantee public security.

Crime Threats

Violent crime is part of everyday life in Ciudad Juarez. However, the surge in homicides has mostly involved fighting between cartels and street gangs or between cartels and security forces. Victims without direct involvement in organized crime represent only a small percentage of overall homicides.

Nevertheless, other forms of violent crime directly impact a much broader portion of the Juarez population. As the Mexican government continues to crack down on drug trafficking, narcotics traffickers, other criminal elements have increasingly resorted to kidnapping, extortion, and robbery. Street criminals select victims based on an appearance of vulnerability, prosperity or inattentiveness, particularly in the downtown bar area. No trends indicate that criminals in Juarez specifically target Americans.

Americans in Juarez need to guard against robbery, theft, and burglary. Displays of cash, jewelry or other signs of wealth are magnets for armed street thieves and pickpockets, and items of minor value left in a car can trigger a break-in even when left for only a few minutes. Hotel guests should keep valuables in secure locations. Do not leave jewelry, money, identity documents, or other valuable items unattended in hotel rooms.

Road Safety

Driving in Juarez requires vigilance and a defensive attitude. There were approximately 13,962 vehicle thefts in Ciudad Juarez in 2009 and as many as 2,145 carjackings. It is extremely important to pay special attention to your surroundings while driving, maintain locked doors, and keep your windows rolled up when stopped in traffic. Most local drivers are lack experience and often drive poorly maintained cars. Road signs and traffic lights are not always clear. Drivers in Ciudad Juarez should give a wide berth to public buses, which are known for careless driving.

In Ciudad Juarez, potholes and trenches can damage your car, causing drivers to swerve into your lane or brake unexpectedly. Road conditions within Ciudad Juarez are subject to extreme flooding due to poor drainage during rainstorms. Manhole covers may be removed when roads flood in order to drain an area more quickly. Open manholes are hard to see from the road and pose a hazard to drivers.

Highway driving can be precarious, especially at night. Avoid travel after dark, and use inter-city toll highways whenever possible. Toll roads are called cuotas in Mexico and are indicated by the capital letter D printed below the highway route number on area maps. Plan your route ahead of time.

Political Violence

Historical Perspective

Northern Mexico is not historically anti-American, but rather well-integrated by family and commercial ties with U.S. border states. Anti-American sentiment is seldom expressed toward U.S. citizens in Ciudad Juarez. Infrequent occurrences in Juarez of trade-related or foreign policy-related protests generally do not affect visitors and expatriates.

Regional Terrorism and Organized Crime

Drug trafficking organizations are responsible for most of the homicides and other organized criminal activity in Ciudad Juarez and in the State of Chihuahua. Although no trends indicate that U.S. citizens are specifically targeted for violence by these organizations, assassinations of police officers and other government officials, as well as other murders, often occur in public places and in traffic. Any public place, at any time of day or night, could be a risk for visitors who are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

International Terrorism or Transnational Terrorism

Lenient immigration controls, the proliferation of false travel documents, and Mexico’s geographic location all raise concerns that Mexico could be used as a transit point for transnational terrorists.

Civil Unrest

Peaceful demonstrations against U.S. policies sometimes occur at U.S. Consulate General Ciudad Juarez and border bridges. Avoid demonstrations as the potential for violence exists when crowds form.

Post-specific Concerns

Environmental Hazards

Natural disasters such as earthquakes are not common in the Chihuahua state, but flooding can be a problem for drivers as described above.

Industrial and Transportation Accidents

There were three major industrial fires in Ciudad Juarez in early April 2009, which resulted in some disruption of travel at the Juarez airport and required evacuation of several neighborhoods.

Kidnappings

U.S. Citizens have been kidnapped in or near Ciudad Juarez, but no trends indicate that U.S. Citizens are specifically targeted. There are many forms of kidnapping in Mexico. Virtual kidnappings are one of the most common scams criminals commit in Ciudad Juarez. In these cases, a criminal randomly calls an unsuspecting family and falsely claims to have kidnapped a family member. The criminals hope to quickly receive a ransom payment before the family detects the ruse. In some cases, the criminals employ actors to cry for help in the background. Consulate personnel have received virtual kidnapping telephone calls, but awareness of these scams prevented ransom payments.

Drugs and Narcoterrorism

Drug related murders can occur anytime in any part of Ciudad Juarez, and ordinary residents can be caught in the crossfire. Remain alert for trouble at all times, and constantly review escape routes and potential safe-havens as you travel in the city.

Police Response

Authorities may not respond to a call in a timely fashion, if at all. The Juarez city police force is underfunded, and police training does not meet U.S. standards. The Juarez police department regularly dismisses large numbers of officers for failing confidence tests. Federal police and Mexican military forces patrol the city.

Reporting a crime is a lengthy bureaucratic process in Ciudad Juarez. As a result, many Mexicans only file reports for serious incidents or when a police report is required for insurance purposes. Despite the length process, victims should report all crimes. The police may require accident or crime victims to accompany them to a police station in order to make a report, but bear in mind that criminals have impersonated Juarez police officers in the past. The police will charge a nominal fee if a police report is required for an insurance claim or other purposes.

How to Handle Police Detention or Harassment

Cooperate if you are stopped by police authorities. Do not offer tips or bribes in any form to police officers after a traffic stop. In the event that the officer should suggest anything other than a normal resolution to a traffic violation, note the officer's badge number, name tag, or police vehicle number, and provide it to the American Citizen Services section of U.S. Consulate General Ciudad Juarez (numbers listed below) as soon as possible.

The Mexican police emergency telephone number is 066. The American Citizen Services unit of U.S. Consulate General Ciudad Juarez is available to assist victims.

Americans residing or traveling in Chihuahua are encouraged to register and update their contact information at U.S. Consulate General Ciudad Juarez. Registration may be done online and can be done in advance of travel. Information on registering may be found at the Department of State’s Consular Affairs website: https://travelregistration.state.gov.

How to Avoid Becoming a Victim

Areas to Avoid

U.S. Consulate General Ciudad Juarez advises American citizens to defer non-essential travel to the Guadalupe Bravo area, southeast of Ciudad Juarez, due to ongoing drug related violence in the area. This region is referred to locally as the “Valle de Juarez” and begins in San Isidro and runs southeast through Guadalupe and Praxedis, ending in Porvenir. The Fabens and Fort Hancock ports-of-entry are often used to cross into this region from the United States.

The consulate general also recommends that U.S. Citizens defer non-essential travel to the northwest quarter of the Chihuahua state due to increasing cartel-related violence. This area begins in Puerto Palomas and running south to the municipalities of Namiquipa and Madera, and west to the Chihuahua state boundary with Sonora, including the city of Nuevo Casas Grandes and surrounding communities. A series of kidnappings and murders were committed in the area. The Columbus port-of-entry is often used to cross into this region from the United States.

Personal Security Tips

· Remain on constant alert for street crime (i.e. armed robbery, pocket-picking, purse-snatching, ATM robbery, etc.).
· Maintain a low profile. Dress casually and keep valuables out of sight. Do not draw attention to yourself.
· Vary your routine. Be unpredictable in your movements. Vary your routes and your departure and arrival times.
· Be alert to surveillance. Note and avoid anyone who appears out of place along your routes to regularly scheduled activities. Avoid sitting outside at restaurants. Instead, try to find seats in areas not clearly visible from the street.
· Stay informed. Be aware of popular scams and robbery tactics used to distract your attention.
· Reduce the incentive for someone to rob you, and minimize the possible loss. Do not carry valuables or large sums of money, avoid wearing jewelry, and carry your wallet in your front trouser pocket or front jacket pocket.
· When hiring domestic help, check references and criminal history as thoroughly as possible and ensure that they are trained not to volunteer information to strangers or to allow access to workers without prior authorization.
· Take normal tourist precautions when drinking water and eating fresh fruits, vegetables, and salads.
· Do not buy prescription medications in Mexico unless you have a prescription from a Mexican doctor.

Further Information

To contact the U.S. Consulate General Ciudad Juarez, call [phone]. From the U.S. dial [phone] or (011) (52) [phone]. Mexico’s country code is 52, and the area code for Ciudad Juarez is 656.

Consulate hours are 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday. The after-hours consulate emergency officer telephone number is (044) [phone]. If calling from the U.S., dial (011) (52) 1 [phone].

[thunder rising]

1. The drug smugglers just killed like 15 teens at a party ... for what reason?

[Flaneur]

6. Speculation is they hit the wrong address.

[thunder rising]

12. Oh, so it was just a mistake. Alrighty then.

[Yurovsky]

10. US drug policy primarily to blame...

while it may well have been a tragic case of getting the address wrong, there wouldn't be such an murder epidemic if the US didn't have such archaic and draconian drug laws.

[Bluebear]

2. 'most sources report at least 2,640 murders committed in and around the city in 2009'

Oh my stars.

[cutlassmama]

3. sounds like a lovely place to take the whole family to vacation.

Put your feet up and stay a while. :sarcasm:

[BlueCollar]

8. I have no problem crossing the border..

"...Northern Mexico is not historically anti-American, but rather well-integrated by family and commercial ties with U.S. border states. Anti-American sentiment is seldom expressed toward U.S. citizens in Ciudad Juarez. Infrequent occurrences in Juarez of trade-related or foreign policy-related protests generally do not affect visitors and expatriates."

[FarCenter]

4. Is it still safe to go to Puerto Nuevo for lobster?

And how are all those beachfront condos around Rosarito doing these days?

[Warpy]

5. I haven't been there in years

because all my medicines are now cheap generics. However, when I was going there a couple of times a year, I really did enjoy it. I never went to any bars or other high risk places and I carried a backpack instead of a ladylike purse and I guess that made me less of a mark.

Street food there is great. It's one of the things I miss most when I get back to the US.

[ddeclue]

7. Gracias pero noi! Ciudad Juarez es demasiado peligroso!

[KonaKane]

9. I used to live in Las Cruces NM, and went to CJ every weekend

Good cheap food, good cheap drinks, nice shops with great leather and silver work. I never had a problem, outside of having to endure some long lines back into the US.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

11. Sounds like a Republican wet dream. nt